Natixis Global Asset Management is gearing up to bring another subsidiary to the UK retail market, which it hopes will fill the gap between stock-picking funds and those that track indices.
Natixis has already launched funds from other subsidiaries, such as Loomis Sayles and H2O, and is planning to launch two funds managed by Paris-based subsidiary Seeyond.
They will be a UK equity fund and a Europe ex UK equity fund, run using a computer-based algorithm designed by Seeyond.
This algorithm will choose the funds’ investments based on certain factors, such as selecting stocks that have been overlooked by the market – known as value investing.
The funds will be able to invest in other factors simultaneously, such as growth, which involves selecting stocks whose earnings are expected to grow at an above-average rate.
The algorithm will allocate across baskets of equities displaying one or more of these “factors” depending on certain market conditions.
The funds will be run by Seeyond’s David Belloc, supported by Pierre Savarzeix, and will be new products not based on anything Seeyond runs in mainland Europe.
Chris Jackson, head of UK retail at Natixis, said he thinks the products would be the first of their kind in the UK retail market.
